Editions

McCullum questions Clarke support

Michael Clarke's Ashes tour has not gone according to plan, with Australia trailing England 2-1 and Brad Haddin dropped from the team.

Share

Getty Images

Written BySacha Pisani

height="148">

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum doubts skipper Michael
Clarke is receiving the necessary support from Australia's
hierarchy as he suggested there was a division within the camp.

Australia trail hosts England 2-1 in the Ashes after last week's
crushing eight-wicket defeat in the third Test and much of the
fallout has centred on the future of Clarke, who shouldered the
blame at Edgbaston.

Clarke's tour has not gone according to plan, having averaged
18.8 runs in six innings so far, with top scores of just 38 and an
unbeaten 32.

The embattled 34-year-old has also seen close friend and fellow
veteran Brad Haddin dumped from the team after missing the second
Test at Lord's.

And McCullum feels for Clarke, whom he believes is at the centre
of a dressing-room split.

"I just wonder how much support he's getting from within the
dressing room," McCullum wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. "I
know it's the Australian way sometimes to be at loggerheads: it's
often the way they get the best out of themselves, pushing each
other to spur everyone on.

"But the Brad Haddin situation - when he withdrew from the
second Test for family reasons - has been an interesting one.

"It's no secret that Clarke is a big Haddin fan, and it's clear
that he doesn't have the same say in selection now as he did
before, especially when Mickey Arthur was coach. I wonder if that's
getting to him a bit."

McCullum added: "I firmly believe the captain needs to have the
final say on the XI who take the field. It's fine for the selectors
to pick the squad, but the captain is the guy who has to take them
out there and juggle his stock.

"He's the one who visits the players late at night in their
hotel rooms to see if they’re in the right frame of mind. He should
be the one who makes the final call.

"In terms of building the right environment around a team, I'd
have wanted Haddin in my team at Edgbaston. It strikes me that
there's a difference of philosophy between Clarke and those who run
the team."